Lazy parents.

The strikingly beautiful photograph above - click on it for a larger view - was taken by a regular reader and occasional Maggot Sandwich contributor who chooses to remain anonymous. The photo was taken at sunrise last Monday morning (about 7am) from the pedestrian footbridge across the rails at Erith Railway Station, looking East. Apart from the spectacular colour of the sky, the spire of Christ Church Erith can be seen to the right of the picture. 

Late on last Tuesday morning, there was a serious road traffic accident at the top of Picardy Road in Upper Belvedere, almost outside of the Congregational Church. Police, Fire and Ambulance services all attended after a careless woman reversed her car in the narrow road, hitting a motorcyclist behind her, almost certainly fully writing off his months old Triumph motor bike, splitting the fuel tank open, so that the road was flooded with petrol, and the rider ended up on the road, partially run over by the woman's car. Several passers by witnessed the incident, as did the car behind the motor cyclist, which happened to be a driving school vehicle with a pupil in the middle of a lesson. My sources inform me that the driving pupil was so shaken up by witnessing the accident that they were unable to complete their lesson, and the instructor had to take over. The spilled petrol was a fire risk, and a crew from Erith Fire Station made the situation safe. The bike rider, the woman car driver and a number of eye witnesses were all interviewed on the spot by the Police, before the rider was taken off by the ambulance to be checked out in hospital. The bend in Picardy Road, at the top of the hill is a notorious accident black spot. The road has not really been altered or widened since Victorian times, when the occasional horse and cart would use it, nowadays in addition to car and van traffic, the narrow main road is used every few minutes by the wide, double decked 401 buses. If this was not bad enough, cars park on both sides of the road, which is especially a problem on the bend. The reason for the parked cars is that parents leave their vehicles there whilst their pre - school children attend the nursery which is held daily in the Congregational Church hall. The morning and afternoon sessions are parent and child based, so the parents stay with their offspring for the duration of the session, rather than just dropping the children off, then collecting them later. An eye witness to the accident on Tuesday morning informed me that the emergency services all expressed strong concern over the intensive parking on that part of Picardy Road, and they felt that the road should have double yellow lines on both sides, meaning a total ban on kerbside parking on the accident black spot. A year ago Bexley Council Highways Department fitted bollards to one side of the road, as can be seen here. I have personally seen drivers mount the pavement between the bollards, in order to park completely on the pavement, blocking access to pedestrians. In almost every instance the owners of the parked cars are local people who are just too indolent and lazy to walk their children the short distance to the nursery, and instead create a traffic hazard with their irresponsible parking. I hope that after the serious accident on Tuesday that the council will ban parking in the vicinity on a permanent basis. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

One of my most reliable sources of information - who chooses to remain anonymous, sent me information on Monday that Lidl have, as expected, now re - applied to Bexley Council for planning permission to demolish the Screwfix / Tile Giant / Bath Store warehouse in Fraser Road, Erith and to construct a Lidl supermarket on the former Atlas trading site. Lidl have actually owned the site for several years. Since I was made aware of the story on Monday morning, it has appeared in the News Shopper; one of the down sides of the Maggot Sandwich being published on Sundays is that stories that I actually get as exclusive scoops end up being broken elsewhere due to my weekly publishing format. Unfortunately there is little that I can do about this. Anyway, back to the story. Erith is dominated by Morrison's supermarket - there is no realistic competition - I don't feel that Farm Foods or Iceland offer anything like the full range of goods that Morrison's does. On top of this, the Erith Quarry housing development - next door to the proposed Lidl site has opened, with over four hundred new houses and apartments. This equates to roughly a thousand new people coming to live in the area. over the next year. Lidl carried out an independently audited survey of local residents; the results were overwhelmingly positive. A total of 1,366 people responded to the survey, of which 1,276 local residents supported the construction of a new Lidl store on the former Atlas trading estate site. That is a majority of 93.6 percent. If the store does go ahead, it will employ 40 local people; I am led to understand that priority will be given to people who are employed by the outlets currently on the site. The detailed development proposal list the following benefits of a new store on the former industrial site:- "Demolition of the Atlas Trade Park and construction of a standalone Lidl food store with associated car parking. Provision of a brand new discount food store (1,375m2 sales area, 806m2 of ancillary space) with 91 free car parking bays of which 2 are for electric vehicles, 6 will be disabled spaces and 8 parent and child spaces. Contemporary food store building using high quality materials. Soft and hard landscaping treatment to be applied to all external areas. A limited range of products (2,000 lines) necessitating continued use of existing local retailers. Provision of up to 40 new jobs for local residents". Following my previous articles on Lidl and their plans to open in Erith, I have had several series of correspondence with readers, which have been overwhelmingly supportive and positive about a Lidl store opening locally. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Apart from scooter gangs, and the theft of vehicle registration plates, the other most common crime encountered locally seems to be the theft of vehicle catalytic converters. Catalytic converter thefts are on the increase with more than 1,000 stolen from cars and vans in London so far in 2019 – five times more than were stolen the previous year. As a result of these thefts, victims are left with hefty repair and replacement bills which can add up to as much as £2,000 a time. A catalytic converter is located in the exhaust pipe near the manifold. It cleans the exhaust fumes emitted from the car and out into the atmosphere. Specifically, it converts pollutants such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides, into carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen, all of which are less harmful, though still large contributors to global warming. The metals which clean a cars’ toxic gases include Platinum, Palladium, and Rhodium, which are all highly valuable. Rhodium can command prices of up to £2,000 an ounce, twice the value of gold. Palladium and Platinum trade at 120 to 180 per cent of the value of Gold. Individually they do not contain a great deal of precious metal. However, organised crime gangs steal them to order for shipment abroad to factories that will salvage the precious metal on an industrial basis. The stolen metals can be recycled for use in jewellery, dentistry and electronics. The catalytic converter is fitted on to the exhaust system so it is fairly accessible on most cars and vans. A professional gang can jack up a car and use a battery-powered steel cutter or angle-grinder to steal the catalytic converter within five minutes. Vehicles with a high clearance off the ground, such as 4x4s are most at risk. The Honda Jazz and Honda Accord have also been targeted because their older devices are particularly easy to reach. Police have said that German cars such as BMWs, Audis and VWs have also been targeted, as have many commercial vehicles. Incidents of catalytic converter theft had been in decline from its peak around six years ago. That led to the introduction of new laws making it illegal to buy scrap metal for cash. Industry experts attributed much of the decline to a fall and bottoming out in metal prices but thefts are now increasing as prices jump to new highs, and the criminal gangs circumvent the UK scrap laws by sending shipping containers full of stolen catalytic converters overseas to be scrapped where no questions are asked. Police advise etching security details into the converters, but that is only going to help recover the converter once it has been stolen. The best you can do really is to slow the thieves down or to make it difficult for them to strike and perhaps put them off attacking your vehicle completely. You can fix them into place using extra bolts or fit a protective sleeve to make them harder to cut out. Defensive parking up against a wall or next to another low slung car may also act as a deterrent. Businesses or homeowners with multiple vehicles parked overnight are recommended to use CCTV, secure perimeter fencing and security lighting.

Last week saw the announcement of the winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, which was awarded to the three scientists who invented the Lithium Ion battery, which nowadays powers many devices, from laptops and mobile phones to electric cars. At 97-years-old, John Goodenough, an engineering professor at The University of Texas, is the oldest person to win the Nobel Prize yet. Goodenough is joined by M. Stanley Whittingham, 77, a professor of chemistry and materials science at Binghamton University, and Akira Yoshino, 71, a professor at Meijo University, Japan. The three Nobel laureates will equally share the cash prize of nine million Swedish Krona, a little over $900,000 or £740,000. Lithium Ion batteries have revolutionised many lives. Having a tiny chemical hub nestled inside phones and computers has made technology portable. More powerful rechargeable batteries have also made it possible to develop electric cars or store cleaner energy from solar and wind power. Since they entered the market in 1991, “they have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society, and are of the greatest benefit to humankind,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the organisation that awards the Nobel Prizes. Lithium Ion batteries are made up of three main components: two electrodes, an electric circuit, and electrolyte fluid. The electrodes - a negatively charged cathode and a positively charged anode - sit on either side of a separator inside a volume of electrolyte fluid and are connected to an electrical circuit. Negative lithium ions flow from the anode to the cathode, producing current through the circuit to provide electrical power. When positive lithium ions flow in the other direction, from the cathode to the anode, the chemical batteries recharge so they are ready to dispense current again when needed.

The photos above were taken by me on Thursday evening at the meeting of the Erith Think Tank, which hosted a question and answer session from two Councillors from Bexley Council - Councillor Louie French (deputy leader of Bexley Council and Cabinet Member for Growth) and Councillor Joe Ferreira (opposition spokesperson for Resources and Growth). As you can see the event was well attended, and the number and detail of some of the questions asked by the audience were impressive - so much so, that the evening, which was meant to finish at 9pm, actually ended up finishing closer to 10pm. One of the questions that elicited the most passion was related to the proposed redevelopment of the small park at the Eastern end of West Street into a new block of flats. Erith ward Councillor Joe Ferreira made an undertaking to attend as many future Erith Think Tank meetings as his schedule will permit. Did you attend? What did you think of the meeting? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I have expounded at some length in the past regarding the "Scores on the Doors" food and restaurant hygiene rating system used throughout the United Kingdom. At the moment, displaying a food hygiene rating is compulsory in Wales and Northern Ireland – it must be visible close to the entrance where customers can easily read it before they go in. Businesses in England do not currently have to display their rating at their premises but are encouraged to do so. A change in the law will be needed if mandatory display of a food hygiene rating is pursued – the Food Standards Agency have said that they want to bring the situation in England in line with Wales and Northern Ireland. Laura Shirley, food safety specialist in the specialist hospitality industry law firm Harrison Clark Rickerby's regulatory team, said: “Although displaying the rating isn’t yet compulsory in England, proposals to make this mandatory make complete sense  – consumers are entitled to know whether a business has good food hygiene standards and make informed choices about where to buy or eat food. The scheme gives business a rating from 5 to 0.  Five is top of the scale and means that the hygiene standards are very good and fully comply with the law. Zero is at the bottom of the scale and means that urgent improvement is necessary. If a business owner isn’t happy with their rating, they can challenge it, including requesting a re-inspection to demonstrate how standards have improved.”

Last Monday was a significant anniversary in the evolution of the web. It was 25 years to the day since the first serious blog appeared. It was called Scripting News and the url was (and remains) at scripting.com. Its author is a software wizard named Dave Winer, who has updated it every day since 1994. Despite its wide readership, it has never run adverts. This makes my thirteen years and three months since I launched the Maggot Sandwich look pretty tame - and I only update the Blog every week, not daily like Dave. his daily blog at scripting.com continues to be a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection between technology and politics. Winer has a quirky, perceptive, liberal and sometimes contrarian take on just about anything that appears on his radar. He is the nearest thing the web has to an international figurehead. He is also a reminder of the importance of blogging, a phenomenon that has been overshadowed as social media exploded and sucked much of the content out of the information environment. The furore over social media and its impact on democracy has obscured the fact that the blogosphere not only continues to exist, but also to fulfil many of the functions of a functioning public sphere. It is massive. One source, for example, estimates that more than 409 million people view more than 20 billion blog pages each month and that users post 70million  new posts and 77 million new comments each month. Another source claims that of the 1.7 billion websites in the world, about 500 million are blogs. I obviously have a lot of competition!

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "My neighbour knocked on my door last night at 22:30 Tuesday 8/10/19 to say that his CCTV doorbell had detected a man walking up our shared drive and was sat crouching behind his dustbins near his back gate. We both approached the man, who on seeing us, stood up, did not give any reason for him being there and walked off down the road. He appeared to duck into another drive about 8 houses down Merewood Road". Photo of the suspect is above - click on the image for a larger version. "It's been another very good week on Barnehurst ward with only one crime of relevance to report. This was a theft from motor vehicle which happened overnight of Saturday 5th October in Grasmere Road when the victim woke to find both wing mirrors off his vehicle removed. Despite the encouraging lack of crime on the ward (especially burglaries), residents are reminded to remain vigilant particularly with Halloween and Christmas approaching. On that note we are pleased to announce that smart water has been rolled out in Westfield Road with only a handful of properties still to take it up. We are hoping to roll out the next batch to Eastleigh Road in the near future. Our next community contact session is coffee with cops at Barnehurst Golf Course on Wednesday 23rd October at 11am. On Monday 14th October at midday the team will be in Grasmere Road to answer any questions you may have or just to say hi". Belvedere ward:- "PC Holmes and PC Austin (from Thamesmead Moorings SNT), whilst patrolling Picardy Street last week stopped a male who was using cannabis in Mary Slessor House. He was issued a warning, and subsequent checks on the male showed that he was wanted for a domestic incident. He was then arrested and removed from the area. There was a burglary in Upper Abbey Road recently in which a handbag was taken from the property. During the same offence, a vehicle was pushed from the driveway of the property by two white males. A burglary also occurred in Elstree Gardens, in which a handbag was taken. There were also reports to the team in the last week of a male who had been seen in Barnfield Road in the early hours of the morning. He was thought to be attempting to gain entry to several properties by trying door handles of neighbouring houses. After being unsuccessful, he was then observed leaving the street in a blue car – possibly a Ford Focus. The team held a ward panel meeting last week, and can now advise that our priorities for the months ahead are vehicle crime, burglary and school parking/ traffic". Bexleyheath ward. From Neighbourhood Watch Member - Coordinator for Rochester Drive:- "We have had reports of drug dealing both ends of Rochester Drive, can I please ask residents that if they see this taking place that they try and take down car registration numbers and give dates/times and description of both vehicles and persons so that the Police can act. Many Thanks". Report from PCSO Nicola Barnes:- "On 2/10/19 overnight a vehicle was taken from a driveway in Iris Avenue – no keys taken 3/10/19 between 1300 - 1345 Theft of a purse from a bag being hung over a child's buggy Bexleyheath Broadway 2/10/19 Catalytic Converter stolen overnight from Marriott Car Park 4/10/19  x2 taken on this evening. 4/10/19 Broom Mead car being sold privately and persons deceiving seller 6/10/19 Theft of Mobile Phone from bag whilst in Arcadia Night Club 7/10/19 Theft from Motor vehicle outside a house Wenvoe Road overnight Please be aware when dealing with other members of the public selling items take precautions wherever possible. Make sure that when shopping you know exactly where your purse/phone. Ensure you plan your routes to and from where you are going as the nights are getting darker to prevent you being vulnerable. Please contact the team if there is anything you wish for us to be aware of in your area". Crayford ward:- "I'm really sorry to say that there has been a residential burglary in Crayford Way. It occurred between 14.00 on Monday 7th October and 23.00 on Tuesday 8th October. Traditional Asian jewellery and rings, a china money box and cash were stolen. Entry was made by removing a fence panel to the garden and damaging the rear door to gain entry. Number plates WM65PXW were stolen from a vehicles parked in Iron Mill Lane between 18.00 on Friday 20th September and 09.00 on Wednesday 2nd October, they should be on a pink Fiat 500.  Two garages were broken in to in Glebelands, the first one occurred between 09.00 on Monday 30th September and 09.00 on Wednesday 3rd October, a cement mixer and industrial concrete drill were stolen, the bulk of the items suggest there are two suspects, they removed a padlock to gain entry. The other occurred between Sunday 8th September and Thursday 3rd October, the lock was broken and entry gained but nothing appears to have been stolen. A bicycle was stolen from outside Crayford BR station on Friday 4th October between 07.30 -18.25, the lock was left intact. A public order offence occurred at Elwick Court on 4th October, as a result we will be attending the venue to speak with residents about hate crime.  Catalytic converters were stolen from a silver Honda Accord and Toyota Auris Hybrid, both parked in Hall Place Crescent on Monday 7th October. An Apple i-Phone XR was stolen from Haberdasher Askes Academy on Sunday 6th October during a church event held there. The phone had a full battery but would now appear to have been turned off. We held our ward panel meeting at Vintage Lindy Lou's at Waterside on Tuesday 8th October. The Crayford team priority will be Anti-Social Behaviour around Crayford Way, Waterside and Princess Parade as there has been a visible increase in issues at this location recently. We do not have a community contact session booked for the week ahead". Erith ward:- "Crimes of note for the week. One newish scam, a male knocked on an elderly residents door and stated a Frisbee had gone in their garden and asked to collect it, when he was leaving did he took a handbag. Theft from Motor Vehicle Thursday 3/10/2019 Callender Road,  Theft from Motor Vehicle on Wednesday 2/10/2019 Sandcliffe Road, Burg Res Friday 4/10/2019 12:00:00 Holmhurst Road - Suspect has knocked on victim door asking to look for a Frisbee in the garden. On way back through has taken her handbag from her bedroom. Theft from Motor Vehicle on Saturday 5/10/2019 Valley Road, Theft from Motor Vehicle on Thursday 3/10/2019 Bexley Road, Burglary Residential Monday 7/10/2019 Riverdale Road - Bathroom window opened. 2 watches with a value of £70 and £60-70 in cash stolen. Shoplift <£200 Wednesday 9/10/2019 Holland and Barrett, Erith High Street". Northumberland Heath ward:- "On Friday 4/10 between 5pm and Midnight there was a burglary in Avenue Road. Cash, jewellery and expensive ornaments were taken. Entry was gained by forcing a panel in the back door. On Saturday 5/10 around 4am in Brook Street a resident disturbed what was believed to be a suspect using a crowbar trying to gain entry to their house. A vehicle seen driving off was seen by the victim and VRM enquiries are being made. Between 6am and 7am on Wednesday 2/10/2019 two males were seen on a bell camera looking through several letterboxes in Langdale Crescent. The footage was shared on Facebook, and the suspects were identified and arrested. Overnight on Sunday 6/10 and Monday 7/10 a vehicle was broken into in Avenue Road. A bag containing college books was taken. Our next CCS is on Thursday 17/10 from 10am in the library".

Slade Green and Northend ward. Image above: PCSO Mark Piggott attended St Augustines Church to attend Rev. Jim Bennett's Priest in Charge Ceremony. "At some time during Sunday 6/10 and Monday 7/10 an empty property in Beacon Road was broken in to via the back door. Nothing was taken and the property has now been secured. Between 1230 and 1330 on Tuesday 08/10 a catalytic converter was stolen from a vehicle in Crescent Road. A male was seen loitering nearby at the time but there are no further leads at this time. PC James has carried out 4 Stop and Searches on the ward in the past week with one male found in possession of cannabis at Sun Court. He is due back for interview in the next week or so. ---- PCSO Mark attended Erith Town FC on Saturday with Erith SNT at Erith leisure centre and will be looking at ways to promote the local area team in future. PCSO Mark has also attended Peareswood Primary school this week (Weds) where he popped in to each class to say hi and was foiled in his attempt at trying to get a free lunch from the canteen! On Sunday 6/10 PCSO Mark attended St Augustines Church to attend Rev. Jim Bennett's “Priest in Charge Ceremony” whereby Jim became the fully sworn in Vicar of the church (image above). A full house saw the ceremony including the Mayor and David Evenett MP. Jim is a very popular part of the community and we wish him well in his now full time role. Our next Community Contact Session is from 12pm on Tuesday 22/10/2019 at the Welcome Café in St Augustines Church". Thamesmead East ward:- "No Burglaries this week. Whernside Close Friday 4/10/19 between 7pm - Sat 15.20pm Number plates stolen by suspect/s unknown. Redbourne Drive Saturday 5/10/19 between 5pm – Sun 1030am Registration Pates removed by suspect/s unknown. Lensbury Way Sunday 6/10/19 8am – 9:40am Victims car broken into damage caused to passenger window. Wallet stolen containing Driving licence and Oyster card. Wolvercote Road Sunday 6/10/19 between 9pm – 6:15am victim reports driver window smashed and interior gone through. £60 cash stolen. Thamesbank Place Monday 7/10/19 12noon – 3pm vehicle broken into wallet stolen. Good News - Allegation of Actual Bodily Harm, Investigation by PC Nana resulted in two males being identified and subsequently interviewed. Both admitted being involved in the assault, Community Resolution issued, victim updated". West Heath ward:- "We have had one burglary in Chessington Avenue this week. This took place Between 11pm on Tuesday October 1st and 7am on Wednesday October 2nd. Unfortunately, two sets of keys and two vehicles were stolen from the property. One attempted burglary in Winchelsea Avenue on Wednesday October 2nd at 6.45am. The suspects forced the front door but were disturbed by the occupants before making off. Thankfully entry was not gained. One attempted theft from motor vehicle in First Avenue between 8am Saturday October 5th and 08.50am on Sunday October 6th.The driver's window was smashed but nothing was taken. Apple air pods and a PlayStation 3 were stolen from a vehicle in Lodge Hill 0n Wednesday October 2nd between 6.45am – 11.30am. Unfortunately the victim had left the vehicle unlocked. Please take a moment to check that your vehicle is locked when you leave it and nothing is left on display to potential thieves. Theft of a blue Jaguar from Gipsy Road between Monday September 30th 08.30am and Tuesday October 1st when the victim discovered it missing at 6am".

The end video this week is a short piece showing the Grade 1 listed pumping station at Crossness sewage works from a YouTuber who visits interesting and historic sites around the UK. Do give it a watch and let me know what you think. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Seven years of the Maggot Sandwich.

This week marks the seventh birthday of the Maggot Sandwich The drawing above (done by best friend Ian) shows what he thinks the fictional Arthur Pewty would look like - comments below as always. When I started the blog back in 2006 I thought it would be something that would last a couple of months at most. I certainly had no intention of it becoming a regular part of my life. I have never missed publishing on a Sunday afternoon in all that time, even on the odd occasion where I had lost my Internet connection – I have been to my Mum’s house to use her computer to ensure that some content gets posted. Back in the day my posts were short, rather inconsistent and generally rather idiosyncratic. Nowadays the style has settled down into something rather more consistent and (hopefully) readable. I did not really realise until 2010 just how many people were reading the Maggot Sandwich, and the impact it was making, until I was one of London’s 50 top Bloggers who were invited to the OFCOM headquarters on The South Bank for a conference on hyper – local websites and how bloggers and the professional press can interact. It was there I met Malcolm Knight of Bexley is Bonkers (the single most dedicated and probing of local bloggers) and Darryl of the 853 Blog – who specialises in news on the area in and around Greenwich and Charlton. Darryl’s writing is consistently of very high quality (but then he is a “proper” journalist, whilst the rest of us are just enthusiastic amateurs).  When I started the blog, it was really nothing more than a place to have a whinge about things that annoyed me, and was generally a rather self indulgent piece. I soon realised that if I was going to make the Maggot Sandwich into a realistic, ongoing concern, then it was going to need a tighter structure and a wider degree of content to attract a regular readership. It was then that it took on its’ current form. Over the years I have had hundreds of comments and all sorts of feedback – most of it good, some of it not. The Maggot Sandwich now has a regular 23,500 unique visitors a month, and gets hits from all over the world – mainly English speaking countries, but pretty much every major country has visited the blog at some point or other. I have encountered many new and interesting people through the medium of the blog; none more so than Malcolm Knight, campaigner, citizen journalist and much needed pain in the backside to certain lazy, vindictive and incompetent members of our local government, via his excellent website - Bexley is Bonkers. Malcolm has kindly sent me the following piece:- Congratulations on the Sandwich getting to seven. I bet you didn't think about that when you wrote its first entry. I didn't consider the future when the first words crept on to 'Bonkers' nearly four years ago. Now it is a treadmill going too fast to allow escape. I first came across the Sandwich early in 2010 and we first met in the September of that year when you cost me a thousand pounds by letting me look at your camera and amply demonstrating that things had moved on since I had bought my digital SLR seven years previously. Replacement followed within a couple of weeks. We were at the OFCOM sponsored gathering of London bloggers and I felt very much the new boy and in your shadow. We have since taken very different paths. I particularly enjoy your inventive descriptions of the low lifes you encounter on your travels, particularly those you used to meet on the bus to Plumstead, sadly no longer on your itinery, and your regular forays into the world of antique computing. My memory of computing goes back to those you walked through and tried not to break the valves! (Tubes for your American readers.) I have even forgiven you for your 'Pitchforks and Flaming Torches' metaphor. No, forgiven is the wrong word, without it and the ensuing police involvement Bonkers might not have survived its childhood. So cheers Hugh for brightening up so many otherwise dreary Sundays. Long may the Sandwich continue. Thanks for your kind words Malcolm - very much appreciated.

I am pleased to see that local MP’s  Teresa Pearce and David Evennett have both spoken out over the proposed rise in MP’s pay. Teresa Pearce has said that she thinks a pay rise would be wrong when so many people are struggling financially, whilst David Evennett said that cost of running Parliament should be going down, not up. I have seen comments in a couple of local newspapers to the effect that civil servants have been subject to pay freezes for several years, which with the level of inflation has effectively meant that they have taken pay cuts in real terms, and if this is the case, why should MP’s be any different. The thing is, that MP’s are not civil servants. They are actually self employed contractors on a retainer, and as such able to independently negotiate their remuneration. I think it is reassuring that both our local representatives are speaking out about the situation; I just hope that they stick to their guns and refuse any pay rise should their colleagues vote it through.  The whole issue is contentious in the extreme. To be honest, the pay level of an MP is pretty low for what they do. The hours are long, and I suspect that much of the work is pretty tedious. If I look at a roughly equivalent role in the professional services field where I work, a person with a similar level of responsibility and power is on a package worth around £400,000 a year – when you compare this with an MP’s annual pay of £66,363, it is quite a difference. Even cabinet ministers earn relatively little when compared to their compatriots in the commercial world. Of course many ex ministers go on to very lucrative consultancies and director ships once they leave Parliament, so  I suppose that it is swings and roundabouts. One can also say that the pay alone should not be a subject that attracts a person to stand as an MP; a level of passion and belief should be the deciding factor. It will be interesting to see how things pan out with the whole MP pay situation – it is entirely possible that many constituency MP’s, fearful of their electorate, will vote against the pay rise, or the whole issue may get kicked into the long grass as being politically inexpedient, as the whole issue is so poisonous with the general public.

Overall PC sales have plummeted over the last couple of years. This can be attributed to a number of factors; businesses have held back from renewing their desktop and laptop fleets as they struggle to keep their overheads down in the middle of the recession; Personal users have switched their spending to smart phones and tablet devices running iOS and Android instead of Windows, and the days of needing a bulky and unattractive desktop or tower system to run a web browser or other piece of relatively simple software are now long gone.  What is interesting is that certain types of devices have seen massive increases in sales, bucking the overall downwards trend. Amazon report very strong sales of Google Chromebooks, citing them as being the surprise sales hit of the year. I must admit that I bought one last Christmas, and I have been extremely impressed with it. A Chromebook is basically a device that runs the Google Chrome web browser. It is not a full PC, as it is not capable of running other applications - it is the modern equivalent of a VT100 terminal. This might sound like a bit of a disadvantage, but when one considers that most general computer users spend around 90% of their time using a web browser, it starts to make more sense. Chromebooks run a cut down version of the Linux operating system that has been optimised and tuned for the Chromebook system architecture. I have found that even though on paper the hardware specification is nothing to write home about, in reality, the machine flies along. It is robust, reliable and very secure. The other upside of the Chromebook is that most models are very reasonably priced. My model, built by Samsung, was only £229. A bargain. In contrast (and as I correctly predicted a couple of weeks ago) Microsoft have dropped the retail price of the Surface RT tablet (the cut – down ARM processor version that cannot run conventional Windows software) by around thirty percent in all worldwide markets. It is rumoured that they are selling the RT in America only to schools and colleges for $199, and to attendees at certain software conferences for only $99.  This is most definitely selling at a large loss; industry rumours say that Microsoft have taken a $900 million hit on their balance sheet this financial quarter, on the Surface RT alone. The rumour is also that Microsoft have realised that the Surface is not selling as they had quite optimistically predicted, and they are trying to offload their warehouses full of unsold stock at bargain basement prices. Apparently they are still undeterred by the lukewarm reception the Surface has received, and they plan a new Surface 2.0 device for early next year. You may recall a comment I made last week, when I said that the first thing you should do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging. I think that perhaps someone ought to impart this advice to Steve Ballmer of Microsoft.

The recent spate of unspeakably hot weather has had some unexpected consequences. Places like the Belvedere Splash Park have been extremely busy indeed – with many parents finding it an ideal place to take small children where they can both play with others and keep cool at the same time. It is amazing to think that it is only a few months ago that Bexley Council had planned to severely curtail, or possibly permanently close the splash park as a cost saving measure. It was only the result of a concerted web based campaign that prevented it from happening. It is debatable as to how much cash the closure would have actually saved. Another activity which seems to have been encouraged by the ultra warm weather is the resurgence in traditional pub games – not dominoes, cribbage or bar billiards, however, but the more elaborate and old fashioned games that used to be played in the pub garden or on the local village green. Dwyle Flunking is a very traditional but rarely played pub game that is almost exclusively played in Kent.  At the Red Lion in Snargate, a pub that has a long tradition with unusual pub games, they manage to find enough volunteers for two teams of 8 players on a regular basis. The game was played thus:- Having tossed up to see who ‘went in’ first, the fielding side holds hands and dances around the member of the batting side who moves in the opposite direction. Next to him is a small bucket of beer slops with a rag ‘the dwyle’ and holding a broom handle ‘the swadge’. When the music stops the batter is allowed to make a throw or ‘flunk’ by launching the beer soaked rag at a member of the fielding side. A direct hit on the head scores ‘3’; a hit on the body ‘2’; and a hit on a limb (arm or leg) scores ‘1’. The batter has 3 strikes then he or she was handed a half pint of beer and had to drink it in 5 seconds flat – if not all the beer was consumed you are obliged to pour the rest ‘over you head’!  Sounds like a candidate sport for the next Olympic Games I think. Talking of Olympics, whilst I was photographing the 150th annual Thames Barge Race, which finished on Erith Pier last weekend, another illustrious event was happening in central London. The 2013 Chap Olympics. You can see some excellent photographs of the competition by clicking here.

Some time ago I wrote about Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) and how 2013 was going to be a landmark year for this little understood, emerging technology. Well, it would appear to be the case. The first LENR production power plant has been manufactured and is now under test in the USA. Low Energy Nuclear Reaction used to erroneously be called Cold Fusion, and was debunked in the late 1980’s / early 1990’s. It is now looking increasingly like there is something behind the reaction after all, even if it is not what the discoverers originally thought. The originator of the new process is a chap called Andrea Rossi, and Italian scientist and engineer, who has been working on LENR for many years; he’s not done himself many favours in the past by making some pretty outrageous claims about his work, and to be honest he’s annoyed much of the scientific community at one point or another. It would appear that after several years of appearing to be a big mouthed fraud to many, he’s actually come good. His LENR generator has now been independently tested by a group of very well respected, reputable scientists and the results were overwhelmingly positive. You can read the details of the tests by clicking here. I am generally very suspicious of anything that appears to be too good to be true – as usually it is too good to be true. If this is a fraud, it is one of the biggest and most elaborate cons of all time; I feel that too many experts with internationally acclaimed reputations have been involved in the testing for it to be fake – their good names would be in tatters if they had been duped into believing the generator was doing something that it was actually not.  I suppose that we can only judge the veracity of the technology when commercial LENR generators start being offered on the retail market. It is a very strange way for what could be a completely ground breaking energy generation technology to come to market. One way or another it is going to be a headline grabber – either as the beginning of a cheap, pollution free and unlimited source of energy for all, or as the one of the biggest cons of all time. We should know soon, one way or another.

I am known for not being very fond of Tesco. Like many, I find the supermarket chain to be the epitome of all that is wrong with big business.  Just for once I am pleased to say that they are doing something constructive which is going to bring something in the region of 650 jobs to the local area. Tesco are opening a distribution centre for their online delivery service in Church Manorway, Erith in October, but prior to the new venture actually going live, there will be a period of training and familiarisation for the new recruits. I understand that job applications are already being accepted for the outlet. Very pleasingly, of the 650 positions that will be created, well over 100 will be offered specifically to local people who have been unemployed for six months or more. Job openings include drivers, stock pickers, warehouse personnel, administrative staff, team managers and several types of support personnel. There will be part time as well as full time jobs available, something to be applauded. I am not actually surprised that Tesco have chosen to open a distribution centre in Erith. It makes economic and operational sense. Firstly, commercial land and property is plentiful and relatively cheap in the area; secondly Erith has excellent road communications with the whole of London and the South East – you have the M25, A2 , M20 and South Circular all in relatively close proximity, and thirdly you have a local population in a relatively deprived and generally overlooked area who are crying out for work opportunities. It would seem to be a win / win for all parties. Coincidentally, there is another  supermarket related story in the news; Asda are opening their rather more controversial store in Lower Belvedere, in what was half of B and Q on the 5th of August. This seems to have divided local opinion fairly sharply. Some welcome the fact that the residents of Belvedere will be getting a proper supermarket, rather than just having the existing small Tesco Express which seems to combine having a very small stock range with also being out of anything you happen to want. Until now, to go to  a “proper” supermarket meant a trip to Morrison’s at Erith, not always easy if you are old or infirm. Arguments against the new B and Q store seem to focus on two areas – the potential increase in traffic, and the effect on existing local shops. The traffic issue may well turn out to have some substance. Picardy Road (often incorrectly called Picardy Hill) is steep and rather narrow in places, especially near to the bottom, very close to the Asda entrance. It is quite possible that traffic jams may occur, especially when the double deck 401 bus comes along. You only need to get a couple of cars parked on the bend by the Methodist Church / Church hall for the road to gridlock. I can see this being a real problem, though I understand that Asda’s planning team have run traffic simulations which indicate very little change in flow up and down Picardy Road. As with many of these situations, time will tell.  I think the second main point raised by objectors is a little less clear cut; that the opening of an Asda store will adversely affect the independent traders in the block adjacent to Belvedere Station. There is a dry cleaners, bakers, cafe, pharmacy and a newsagent. With the possible exception of the baker, I think it unlikely that the Asda will adversely affect their trade. To use a real life example, the Londis store on the corner of Appold Street and Manor Road in Erith was thought to be doomed when the giant Morrison’s super store opened literally around the corner from it, back in 1999. Instead of going out of business within a few months as many people (I have to say, including myself) thought at the time, the Londis flourished and is still in very rude health to this day. The reason being that the store caters for passing trade – a lot of lorry drivers coming to and from the Slade Green Industrial Estate stop off to buy a paper, a cup of tea and a filled roll. Locals also use it for single items – prices are broadly comparable with Morrison’s, and you don’t have the fuss of queuing. I anticipate that something similar may happen to the parade of shops in Lower Belvedere.

Here is something different. A full length Superman film made by fans. It is a bit creaky, and has a few fairly large plot and logic holes, but overall it is great fun, and has obviously been made with love; see what you think by clicking below to make it full screen.  Comments at the bottom of the page, as always.